verb
- Distinguish oneself.
- usage: "She excelled in math"
- Be or do something to a greater degree.
- usage: "her performance surpasses that of any other student I know"; "She outdoes all other athletes"; "This exceeds all my expectations"; "This car outperforms all others in its class"
- Move past.
- usage: "A black limousine passed by when she looked out the window"; "He passed his professor in the hall"; "One line of soldiers surpassed the other"
- Be greater in scope or size than some standard.
- usage: "Their loyalty exceeds their national bonds"
adjective
- Exceeding or surpassing usual limits especially in excellence.
- synonyms: transcendent
- Far beyond what is usual in magnitude or degree.
- usage: "a night of exceeding darkness"; "an exceptional memory"; "olympian efforts to save the city from bankruptcy"; "the young Mozart's prodigious talents"
- synonyms: exceeding, exceptional, olympian, prodigious
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
| APA | WordNet. (2010). surpassing. Retrieved September 21, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/surpassing/definitions/1184849 |
| Chicago | WordNet. 2010. "surpassing" http://smartdefine.org/surpassing/definitions/1184849 (accessed September 21, 2026). |
| Harvard | WordNet 2010, surpassing, Smart Define, viewed 21 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/surpassing/definitions/1184849>. |
| MLA | WordNet. "surpassing" 23 October 2010. Web. 21 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/surpassing/definitions/1184849> |